Novo Nordisk CEO flags 1.5 million US users of compounded GLP-1 drugs

Jan 12 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO Chief Executive Mike Doustdar said on Monday as many as 1.5 million patients in the United States may be using compounded versions of blockbuster GLP-1 weight-loss treatments.

Speaking on a panel at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Doustdar said compounders understood consumer needs better than the pharmaceutical industry initially did, adding that they were able to capture price-sensitive GLP-1 users.

He said the shift toward compounded drugs, which are essentially copies of the name-brand drugs, was a key learning for Novo Nordisk as it reassesses pricing and access strategies for its obesity treatments.